text: The production of lime in the Land of Israel has been dated as far back as the Canaanite period, and has continued in successive generations ever since. The man-made limepit was usually dug in ground near the place where limestone could be quarried. Remnants of old limepits have been unearthed in archaeological digs all throughout the Levant. In a country where hundreds of such limepits or limekilns for burning limestone were found, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) describes dozens of them (), one discovered in Kiryat Ye'arim, another in Har Giora - East (2 km. north of Bar-Giora), as well as in Neve Yaakov, among other places. Two lime kilns, stratigraphically dated to the late Hellenistic period were excavated at Ramat Rachel, the latter of which being circular in shape (3.6 metres in diameter) and built into the ruins of a large pool, using earlier walls. A rounded kiln (2.5–2.8 metres in diameter) was found northeast of Jerusalem dating back to the Iron Age (seventh–sixth century BCE), and was built of stones and had a rectangular unit adjacent to it. In the Lachish area, several lime kilns were excavated by a team on behalf of the IAA, and which kilns were partially hewn in the bedrock and partially built of fieldstones, and last used at some point between the mid-15th century and the mid-17th century CE. 
  In Bedouin-Arab culture in Palestine, the limepit was dug to a depth of about  and about  in diameter. 
  By all appearances, the pit was made after the same basic principle used in a "Dakota fire pit," which is made with an air inlet at the base, allowing for air-ventilation, but on a larger scale. Air intake was achieved by digging an adjacent channel which ran from a short distance into the limepit, or else an underground shaft (shafts) at floor level of limepit leading from an open area, allowing for a steady, free-flowing draught of air to be drawn into the limepit as it burns. In this way, there was no need for the use of bellows to reach a high temperature, but only to stoke the fire with wood continuously for several days for it to reach a temperature of 900° Celsius (1650° F). Its mode of operation was similar to that of a shaft kiln. After cooling, wood ashes that had accumulated were then separated from the burnt blocks of limestone. The limestone blocks were then crushed, afterwards slaked (the process of adding water and constantly turning the lime to create a chemical reaction, whereby the burnt lime, or what is known also as calcium oxide, is changed into calcium hydroxide), and mixed with an aggregate to form an adhesive paste (plaster) used in construction and for daubing buildings.
  When properly burnt, limestone loses its carbonic acid () and becomes converted into caustic or quicklime (CaO). One-hundred parts of raw limestone yields about 56 parts of quicklime. In the West, quicklime was formerly a major component in common mortar, besides its predominant use in plastering. In some Middle-Eastern countries where rain-fall was scarce in the dry season, lime production for use in plastering home-made cisterns (in making them impermeable by adding thereto a pozzolanic agent) was especially important. This enabled them to collect the winter run-off of rain water and to have it stored for later use, whether for personal or agricultural needs. Lime is also an important component in the production of Nabulsi soap, in dyeing fabrics, and in use as a depilatory.